Visiting Santa - 2011

Tonight Santa and Mrs. Claus were downtown on the square at a local ice cream shop.  What a fun place to go visit him!  And it was perfect.  Not busy at all so Santa had plenty of time to talk to the boys and even told them about how he had 2 other brothers and that they should always remain friends like they are now because as they get older they will be the best buds and can have a lot of fun together!  What a wonderful thing for them to hear from Santa and not just ol' mom and dad.

The boys loved talking to him and did a very good job telling Santa what they were wishing for for Christmas.  Ethan wants a DS and Wii games, a new leather football and a new baseball glove for this summers baseball season. Trevor asked for a top, a new truck and a race car.  Cooper, well he didn't really talk to Santa, but Santa wanted to keep him on his lap all night!

I hope the magic of Christmas can always show in their eyes like it did tonight.  Just the excitement and awe when they see Santa and Mrs. Claus makes it fun.  And I know the magic will always be there because even after they learn the "fibbed truths" of Christmas, the real reason, the birth of our Lord, will still remain.  But there is just something about the sparkle in a child's eyes when Santa shows up...the innocence.  I wish it could always remain...

just to put it out there

So, I'm not doing some long blog post today (although I should be), nor am I going to be showing you any pictures (although, I should be doing that, too).  But I just have to say.....

My living room has puked!!!

Between putting together Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, eating in the living room while I do those two other things, Cooper playing with various toys/jungle gyms, and laundry.... my living room looks fantastically messy!

Like I said, I should be showing you a picture, but NOPE... not gonna do it.  You can just use your imagination and then multiply it by 5 and that's probably close to what it looks like. 

Happy Wednesday!

Oh Christmas Tree

My poor Christmas tree this year.  It really is a sight to be seen.  Not that it's terrible.  It's not a Charlie Brown tree either. But it is a bit out of the ordinary for me this year.  You see.  The tree is normally "MY" thing. I put the lights on.  Lots of lights.  I normally do most of the decorations because the boys put on a few ornaments and are then bored with the whole thing.  So I get to put on most of them, strategically placed so that the longer ones fill in a hole that is visible, or little ones go right on the end of the branch so they can be seen.  And of course, there are never 2 ornaments on the same branch.  NEVER.

Well, this year.  The lights were still my thing.  I got those done while the boys were at school one day.  All lights working (at least I thought).  I did test them before putting them on and they all worked.  Got them all on and that first night of turning the lights on the very top strand was 1/2 out.  Since the ornaments weren't on yet, I used the next day to take that strand off and replace it with another one that I had.  Those are still working. 

Then we got to putting on the ornaments - as noted in the other post about decorating the tree.  The boys did a great job; however, I do have to say, it is taking all my will to not move ornaments around.  Seriously.  A lot of strength is being used!  But I love the tree.  The boys had so much fun and are enjoying the tree more this year than in the past. 

Three ornaments on the very same branch... the poor branch is pulled toward the floor. 

And can you see Santa in there... he's little and he's hiding in the "woods".  

But then, after all ornaments are on and after a week of enjoying it, half of another strand of lights decided to go out.  Tried changing the fuse. No luck.  Thought about going through every light bulb on the burned out side, but that is just a pain in the butt.  So what do I do.  I add another strand of lights over the currently burnt out ones to fill in the dark spaces.  Seriously, it looks hilarious during the day when can see all the green wires from the lights.  However, at night, no one would ever know! 

The highway of lights on the tree this year!  Man it is a sight to be seen!  No wrapping and pushing them into the inner part of the tree when all the ornaments are on already ;o)

So, here's to you Mr. Christmas Tree.  You're a sore sight for my eyes, but I love you just the same!

not even a bed

my mommy was busy yesterday after school and she didn't even let me sleep in my bed.  she was helping my brothers with some crafts that a guy called st. nick brought them.  they were painting.  i sat in my highchair and watched them and chewed on my fingers, my toys and anything else that was in front of me.  then they left.  when they came back they both had different clothes on and mommy put some yummy food in front of them.  of course, she wouldn't give me any.  but i didn't cry.  i was good.  the whole time.  i laughed and giggled and played with my toys.  i fussed just once and she knew what i wanted.  my noonie.  i love my noonie.  it almost always makes me feel better. 

then my brothers finished their food and i guess i missed some stuff because the plates were put away and they had their jackets on.  i didn't even see them get up from the table.  they are sneaky like that sometimes.  mom said, "oh, i hate to do this," but i didn't know what that meant until she picked me up and quickly changed my diaper.  man was she in a hurry!  then i was put in my carseat and i then knew what she meant.  she bundled me up and took me out in the cold.  i was so nice and warm in my high chair.  now i had to go out in the van and go somewhere with my brothers.  that's the story of my life. 

mom showed me these pictures today and now i know why i 'missed' something when my brothers were eating.  i guess i was tired and decided to just sleep where i was rather than wait for mom to put me in my bed.

this is me having fun.  i love my new place to sit in the kitchen.  i feel like such a big boy.



this is what happened next.  i guess i must have been tired.

Do You Believe...

I really should be in bed already, but I couldn't go to sleep without documenting the excitement around the house tonight.  The boys are so excited for St. Nick to come to our house.  They have been helping me around the house, they made sure to give me time to get their names on the stockings.  I have never had personalized stockings before, but this year, since our family is completed now, I decided to go buy matching stockings and write everyones names on one.  They are nothing fancy, but the boys thought it was pretty neat to have their names on it!  Simple. Things.

Bed time was easy peasy tonight....a) they were tired, b) they knew if they didn't get to sleep St. Nick just might not come to visit.  So, off to a deep slumber they went.  Very quickly.  I remember the anticipation of St. Nick when I was growing up.  Was he going to visit?  What was he going to leave me?  Would it fit in my stocking or would it be below on the floor in front of the fireplace?  It was fun to dig the simplest of things out of a stocking... even new underwear some years!

So, it's the night of St. Nick.  The stockings are hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...   stay little boys, stay little.  I love the genuine excitement and wonder of a child at the holidays!

5 Months for Cooper

This last month has been a little switch for you... more bottles for you.  Mom tried to feed you more, but I just wasn't producing enough for you.  So, I started giving you a bottle here and there.  You would swallow them up like it was yummy juice!  You were hungry, even after I would feed you.  So, more bottles it is.  We had to take your brother into the doctor mid-month (Nov 18th) and so we weighed you at the same time.  You are up to 11 pounds 10 ounces.  So, in 3 weeks you have gained as much as you did in the previous 2 months.  I'd say you were wanting some extra milk :)  As long as you're happy and growing, that's the main thing... and I'm still getting to nurse you along with giving you bottles so that's the best of both worlds... you're growing and still nursing.

You are sitting up more and more each day.  You still have pillows assisting you and making sure you don't bonk your head on the floor, but you love to play with your toys on the floor.  You are also grabbing for thins with such purpose these days.  I love this stage when kids know what they want and lean/grab for it.  That is, except when it's my glasses or my earrings... you're little fingers fit right in the hoop earrings and make it easy for you to pull :)

This chair was slippery for you when trying to sit up           Here you got it and stayed upright!

This chair was much easier                                                 until you fell over... but still smiling!

Christmas Tree 2011

Go figure that just as I start to clean up the boys' room, the doorbell rings. It's Mr. FedEx guy with a package for us. Normally, I can just set the package on the table and open them later, after I finish what I was doing. But not this time. You see, we (or should I say, Rick) ordered an early Christmas present for himself and to make me happy he added a few "extra" items. Items like a keyboard and a camera adaptor. These items fit nicely with the iPad he ordered but give me the added benefit of using it for things that I would like to. This blog, for instance. Without the camera adaptor, I couldn't upload photos to the blog. What fun is a post with out pictures, right?

So, you see the FedEx man delivered the camera adaptor today. That is why I have put everything on hold and am now sitting here typing this post. I just HAD to try out the adaptor to make sure it works. Just doing my duty as a wife and consumer of a product. Gotta make sure things work the way they should.

So, Keyboard. Check. Working great today. Camera Adaptor. Let's try it out.

Last night we decorated the Christmas tree. Normally, it's me decorating, but this year, the boys were all about putting on the ornaments. So, I unpack them, handed them to the boys and they decorated. Rick helped put on a few of the heavier ones that needed "sturdy" branches, but other than that it was all the boys. I think I put on one ornament. that's it. And that's not like me. As Rick told the boys, "boys, you will come to learn that Christmas is Mom's thing. Don't mess with it. She knows where things are and has them right where she wants them to be." That was told to them as I was sternly telling them to stop digging in the bin with all the ornaments and that I would give them an unpacked ornament in a minute. ;)

So, the tree is decorated. The boys had fun. And Cooper even got in on the excitement for a bit.

Dang.... can't get to the photos. Off to the other computer to post them.   Looks like I'll have to play around some more to figure out how to get into Blogger ;o)

Thanks to the Thoresen's we have been adopting the "Santa's Hat" tree topper; however this year, the boys are requesting a star for the top of the tree so we may need to change things up a bit.  We'll see if they remember next time we head to the store or if they ask me to make one.

Trevor couldn't quite get the hat on straight so Ethan got to take a turn putting it up there. I was holding my breath as Rick was holding him.... all I saw was his foot kicking the tree, Rick losing his balance, and both of them heading right into the tree.  

 Thankfully, it didn't happen and the tree was standing at the end of the night.  Good job boys!

Random November 2011 Pictures

Before printing out the blog book, I decided to go back and make sure I didn't miss anything since the blog was a hit or miss event during this time in our lives.... it is now February 6, 2014 and I am just getting to making the 2011 book.... bad, bad blogger! 

Here are some random ones from November 2011

Just Cooper - November 2011

Just Coop.... Getting so big, so much personality, and lots and lots of smiles.

 

 

 



Our Sillies this Month

We had all kinds of silly faces this month.... these are just a few.